The Jockey Club today reported that 4,282 stallions covered 63,825 mares in North America during 2002, according to statistics compiled as of Sept. 8, 2003. These coverings have resulted in 35,588 foals of 2003 being reported to The Jockey Club on Live Foal Reports received as of Sept. 8.

As in past years, the reporting is approximately 90 percent complete.

“We encourage all breeders to submit their Live Foal Reports within 30 days of the birth of the foal as stated in The Principal Rules and Requirements of The American Stud Book so that The Jockey Club may provide the industry with the most accurate breeding statistics possible,” explained Matt Iuliano, the vice president of registration services for The Jockey Club.

“Although we’re nearly 1,000 live foals ahead of last year at this time with virtually identical numbers of mares bred, the pace of 2003 Live Foal/No Foal Report submissions by breeders is lagging about two percent behind the early returns of recent years,” he said. “Based on past history, we would expect The Jockey Club to receive another 3,500 to 4,000 Live Foal Reports from the small percentage of breeders who have not submitted their reports.”

In addition to a count of live foals reported by stallion, the report again includes a sum of the 2003 No Foal Reports submitted to date for 2002 breedings. Through Sept. 8, 8,551 No Foal Reports had been submitted to The Jockey Club for the 2003 foaling season.

The number of stallions decreased 3.7 percent from the 4,445 reported for 2001 at this time last year. There was a marginal increase against the 63,793 mares reported for 2001.

Iuliano stressed that the count is not a measurement of the live foals born in each state, but rather a count of state-sired live foals, regardless of where the foals were born. Additionally, the statistics should not be taken to represent the fertility record of any one stallion.

Thoroughbred breeding activity in Kentucky again led the nation, with the 2003 Kentucky-sired live foal count stabilizing following the impact of Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome on the 2002 live foal count. In Kentucky, 20,017 mares reported bred in 2002 have produced 12,582 reported live foals, a 7.6 percent increase on the 11,697 live foals of 2002 reported at this time last year. The number of mares reported bred to Kentucky stallions in 2002 decreased 2.8 percent from the 20,598 reported for 2001 at this time last year.

Among the top 10 states by breeding activity in 2002, states whose stallions produced more live foals in 2003 than in 2002 at this time last year were:

State 2002 LF 2003 LF % Change

Kentucky 11,697 12,582 +7.6%

Florida 4,248 4,358 +2.6%

New York 1,317 1,459 +10.8%

Maryland 1,089 1,136 +4.3%

States among the top 10 by breeding activity in 2002 whose stallions produced fewer live foals in 2003 than in 2002 as reported at this time last year were:

State 2002 LF 2003 LF % Change

California 3,806 3,752 -1.4%

Texas 1,704 1,618 -5.0%

Louisiana 1,201 1,185 -1.3%

Oklahoma 780 747 -4.2%

Washington 738 609 -17.5%

Illinois 594 550 -7.4%

The statistics include 257 progeny sired by stallions standing in North America but foaled abroad, as reported by foreign Stud Book authorities at the time of publication. In this category, 58 live foals by North American stallions were reported from Great Britain (65 reported in 2002). Second was Ireland which reported 49 (48) foals.

Remaining countries on the list with 2002 returns in parentheses are: Korea, 46 (26); France, 21 (16); Venezuela, 17 (3); Saudi Arabia, 15 (2); Philippines, 14 (no report in 2002); Thailand, 12 (2); Trinidad, 8 (no report in 2002); Argentina, 4 (7); Mexico, 4 (8); India, 3 (no report in 2002); Jamaica, 3 (no report in 2002); Italy, 2 (no report in 2002); and Brazil, 1 (no report in 2002).

The report also includes 22 mares bred to 16 stallions in North America on Southern Hemisphere time. The vast majority of these mares have not foaled.

The 2002 breeding statistics are available alphabetically by stallion name through the “Information and Statistics” icon on The Jockey Club home page at www.jockeyclub.com.